The Companion Project
by Kathryn Hart
Summary: "What if we got all the Doctor's old companions back together for one day, as a way to thank him for all the good he's done?" Jack, Martha and River Song band together to give the Doctor the biggest thank you in history. Will feature numerous companions from new and classic Who. *ELEVEN/ROSE* Be warned! Martha/Mickey, Amy/Rory, Jack/?, River/? Friendship/Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Drama
1. Prologue - The Meeting

**Summary**:** "What if we got all the Doctor's old companions back together for one day, as a way to thank him for all the good he's done?" Jack, Martha and River Song band together to give the Doctor the biggest thank you in history. Will feature numerous companions, from new and classic Who.**

**Rating: K+ (though I'm not too sure with Jack being Jack and all ;)), but the sequel is a darker and grittier T.  
**

**Genre: Friendship/Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Drama**

**Pairings: Eleven/Rose, Martha/Mickey, Amy/Rory, Jack/?, River/?**

**Cover image made by me: Kathryn Hart :)  
**

**A**/**N: Hi guys! Another new fic! This one I got from a picture I saw in my head of Jack, Martha and River sitting together at a table in a bar. I don't really want this to look like a fix-it fic, but it does kind of give off that feeling at times. This story is six chapters long and the sequel "Starlight in Our Souls" is seven. I put a lot of my heart into Starlight so I actually adore that one more than this one. Starlight is my baby, and that'll probably be clear once we get to it. For now, I hope you enjoy The Companion Project! :D  
**

* * *

**Prologue: The Meeting **

"_The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted." ~Mother Teresa_

The pub was dark and gloomy. A few patrons sat in the shadows, awaiting their drinks from the waitress with the pale skin and short skirt. The smell of booze and cigarette smoke permeated into the very walls.

Slowly the door creaked open and sunlight filtered in. A man in a long blue trench coat circa 1940s strode in with confidence in his step. He nodded to the waitress who obviously knew him and showed him to a table near the front window. The window was so covered in dirt that barely any light came through. The man sat down and awaited the rest of his party.

After a few minutes a dark-skinned woman came in, looking wary of the seedy surroundings. As soon as the man saw her he jumped up, his face breaking into a grin.

"Martha Jones! Good to see you, still looking beautiful as ever."

"And you're still flirtatious as ever, Jack Harkness." Jack merely winked at her as he pulled a chair out for her to sit down. "Are we waiting for anyone else?"

"One more person." At his silence, Martha leaned back in her chair and tried not to let a look of disgust appear on her face. Couldn't they have met somewhere a bit cleaner? Finally she spoke, just to break the silence.

"Why are we here?"

"In this bar? Well, it's one of my favorites. Lots of good memories were made here." He looked at the dank and dirty little pub fondly, and Martha could see the distant memories in his eyes. "For the specific reason, I'll tell you when our other guest gets here. No need to repeat it." The waitress brought over a large tankard of ale and Jack took a big gulp gratefully.

"No thanks." Martha waved her off. They continued to sit quietly and chat for a few more minutes while they waited. After ten minutes the door opened again. The regulars shied away, tired of the continual interruptions to their drink and conversation. This time it was a tall woman with lustrous, curly, blonde hair. Her walk was just as confident as Jack's as she spotted the ones she was looking for and came up to their table. Martha and Jack stood up to greet her.

"Captain Jack Harkness I presume? The one I talked to earlier?" She asked.

"The one and only. This is Doctor Martha Jones, formerly of UNIT, and Martha, this is Professor River Song, of whatever the hell she pleases." The two women shook hands, Martha suddenly curious about this strange woman's background.

"A Professor, a Doctor, and a Captain walk into a bar. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke." Jack grinned at River, clearly approving of her humour.

"Now ladies, for the reason we are here." They all sat down and he looked between them. "It is known that the one thing the three of us have in common is that, at one point or another, we have traveled with the Doctor. Some of us wouldn't even have been born the way we were without him." Jack looked pointedly at River but she only pursed her lips. Martha took note to ask Jack about that later. "We have all been changed because of what the Doctor did for us. I can't say for you two but I'm definitely a better person because of him."

"I'd agree with that." Martha chimed in.

"Yes, me too. Of course." River added. Jack merely nodded.

"Not only has the Doctor made us better people, he has saved this planet and others, universes even, more times than anyone can count. There is no way we could possibly thank him or repay him for what he's done for us, how many lives he's saved. That is, until I came up with this." He pulled three manila folders out of his jacket and set them on the table. "Introducing, the Companion Project." The women looked at him in confusion. "What if we were to get together as many people as we could, bring them here, and surprise the Doctor? He would never expect something this big."

"Sounds good." River said, already liking it.

"I've already contacted Ian and Barbara Chesterton, Dorothy aka Ace McShane, Doctor Grace Holloway and Craig Owens. There are numerous more, and it's been hard tracking them down, the ones that we even know of."

"I can give you a few more names probably." River said.

"Thanks. Some of them have already passed away, or most likely are on other planets. Those that we know of you could use your vortex manipulator for?" River nodded. Martha frowned, feeling slightly left out.

"What am I here for then? I only traveled with him for a few months and I can't help you like River can." Jack smiled.

"Ah, this is where The Companion Project comes in." He picked up the folders to demonstrate. "Three cases of companions where both your help is needed." He handed one folder to Martha. "I need you to take this to UNIT, get as many men as you can working on this." She opened it up and scanned the file of a ginger woman and a blonde man.

"Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Died in 1987 at the ages of 87 and 82." She had initial questions but waited until she finished reading the file.

"Hold on!" River shouted, jumping up. "I should be the one to help get my parents back." Jack put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're right, you should. But I need your Time Lady expertise for this one." He handed her the second file and she flipped it open.

"Donna Noble." She read out loud, recognizing the name. Her eyes widened as she read the first few paragraphs. "Time Lord human Metacrisis." She whistled in wonder. "No wonder he hardly mentions her. This will be difficult."

"Maybe, but I think I kept the hardest one for myself." Martha and River looked at the file as Jack slapped it open on the table. A young blonde woman smiled back from the picture in the file.

Rose Tyler.

* * *

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds. Then River straightened up, a mixed expression on her face.

"I don't want to sound petty but, her file says she's with a clone of the Doctor, in a parallel universe, shouldn't we leave them alone? They may not want to come."

"Why, are you threatened by her?" Jack asked.

"I'm not threatened!" She cried back.

"Sounds to me like you're threatened." Martha added.

"Stay out of this." River pointed a finger at her. "You have no idea about what's going on, what I have to lose. He told me about you, the Doctor did. He told me things you wouldn't want to hear, so why don't you sit there quietly instead of commenting on something you wouldn't under-"

"Hold up!" Jack interrupted River when he saw Martha stand up angrily, a blistering retort ready on her lips. He put his hands between the two of them to get them to calm down. "This isn't about us." He looked between the two ladies, his expression firm. "This is about the Doctor. I'm only sending a message to Rose and the clone Doctor. If they don't want to come, so be it. If they do, I will do my absolute best to get them here. And no one's going to stop me, correct?"

"Correct." Martha answered immediately. Jack looked at River expectantly.

"Correct." She said after a slight pause.

"Okay, so we all good then?" Jack asked. Martha grabbed her jacket that she had taken off earlier and picked up Amy and Rory's file. River's file on Donna was tucked securely beneath her arm. They both nodded. Jack smiled in satisfaction. "Fantastic, as a friend of mine used to say." He looked at Martha. "I'll stop by UNIT in three weeks. Will that be enough time to get something together?" Martha opened the file and looked at the first page again.

"Yeah. Should be."

"River, four weeks, come to Torchwood." River acknowledged him, still a bit miffed at what had happened earlier. Without another word she activated her vortex manipulator and was gone in a flash of blue light. Martha blinked twice, lights dancing in front of her eyes.

"She'll get used to the idea." She told Jack as her vision cleared. "Contrary to what she said, I do know how it feels. I nearly let Rose destroy my friendship with the Doctor, with no fault of her own. She's special to him, but nobody can know for sure what's going to happen if and when she comes." Jack merely nodded, contemplating.

"He really does love her. I hope I'm doing the right thing in bringing Rose and the clone back."

"You're letting Rose decide, remember? She knows more than both of us put together what's best for him."

"That is very true." The pair walked over to the door and Jack held it open for her. "So, you think UNIT will help you with this?"

"Well, Mickey and I are independent of them now, but I'm sure they would if I pulled a few strings." Jack laughed.

"Martha Jones, where would this world be without you here to save it?" Martha just smiled back, allowing herself just a bit of pride. Just a little.

* * *

**Please review, I love to hear your initial reactions! :)**


	2. Chapter One - What is Love?

**The way the three of them get the companions back may seem simple, nearly too simple, but I didn't want that to be the focus of this story. The point of it is that the Doctor will realise just how much he's loved. I didn't want to waste too much time on Jack, Martha and River struggling to get the Ponds, the Tylers and the Noble back ;) Claudia and Nick in the picture are played by Lucy Brown and Douglas Henshall (it'll make sense when you read it). If you recognize that reference then you are simply amazing! :D  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I just like to mess with their lives every once in a while (for the better I hope? :))  
**

* * *

**Chapter One – What is Love?**

"_Regardless of circumstances, each man lives in a world of his own making." ~Joseph Murray Emms_

_ Three weeks later..._

When Jack Harkness walked into the UNIT Headquarters of Great Britain, he was surprised at the hubbub of people bustling around him, working hard at their jobs. He grumbled at the fact that he only had one employee now, while it looked like UNIT had more than enough to spare. If only Martha and Mickey didn't insist on working independently... Speaking of which, here was Mr. _"Hey Mickey, you're so fine" _now.

"Look at you all clean and dapper in that UNIT military uniform."

"I'm married, Jack, for the millionth time." Jack raised his hands up in defense.

"The only thing I'm insinuating is that you'd look even better working for me, though I like the way your mind works." Mickey shook his head at the American's audacity.

"Both me and Martha have told you this before too, we prefer working independently, it gives us more time to be together."

"You'd be together at Torchwood, in fact, all three of us could..."

"Okay, you can stop right there. Besides, we've started our own threesome." Jack looked shocked for a moment as Martha came up to them, a disapproving look on her face.

"Mickey, we said we wouldn't tell anyone about the baby right now." Jack's face broke into a huge grin. He embraced Mickey first.

"Why are you hugging me?" He cried, a bit weirded out.

"Oh, right!" He released him and hugged Martha. "Congratulations are in order I should say."

"Thanks," she replied, looking a bit self-conscious. She hadn't begun to show yet, but it wouldn't be long.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me in the pub?"

"I wasn't sure then. Plus Professor River Song was a stranger to me so I thought it best to make sure first." The trio was quiet for a minute. "Seemed like just yesterday the three of us were fighting the Master." Martha commented to Jack. "Things have changed so much."

"For the better I hope?" Mickey piped up, having already heard the story of how his wife walked the Earth a couple of years before they met.

"Of course honey." They leaned together and shared a sweet kiss.

"Aww, look at that, you sure you don't-"

"We're sure!" They both shouted. Jack stuck his tongue out at them in mock annoyance. He was about to say something else when he saw a group of UNIT soldiers with a couple that looked like the Amy Pond and Rory Williams from the file.

"Wow!" He exclaimed after he had pushed his way through the soldiers. "Great progress Martha! I should've asked about this first."

"Jack, this is Claudia Beckett and Nicholas Clay. They're in witness protection and volunteered to take Amy and Rory's place back in 1923." Jack turned around to look at Martha, an aghast look on his face.

"That's your big idea? What if they don't live as long as them? New York could be blown apart!"

"We examined both of them. They have no diseases or any reason that they shouldn't live long healthy lives. Also, with River's help, we contacted UNIT in 1927 and they agreed to keep an eye on them. Nick and Claudia also agreed in a written contract to live no longer than what's written on Amy and Rory's headstones. Seventy years is plenty of time." Jack frowned. There were many ways this could go wrong, but, all in all, it was probably the only way.

"Amazing facial and body reconstruction." He said, scrutinizing their appearance. "I really thought they were Amy and Rory."

"That's what we were aiming for." Claudia, now the new Amy said with an impeccable Scottish accent. "You were our first test."

"Hmm." He pursed his lips. "Did River help you get everything right?"

"Yes," Nick aka Rory replied. "We're also going to spend a few days with the real Amy and Rory to perfect it even more.

"What about the baby? Anthony right?"

"They're finishing up the adoption processes now," Martha said. "we'll be ready to send them back within the hour, and as soon as River gets here. Despite you telling her to work on Donna's case, she's been an immense help in the process to get her parents back." She grabbed hold of Jack's hand. "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour of this place while we wait."

* * *

Martha was wrong, it was closer to two hours by the time everything and everyone was ready to go. River Song had arrived and the replacement Amy and Rory were garbed in 1920s clothes and suitcases filled with their belongings. Replacement Amy was handed their new baby who was chosen to look as close to Anthony Williams as possible. River would also use what little Time Lady abilities she had as well to fix any bugs in the timeline.

"If I was a full Time Lord like the Doctor this would be so much easier." She massaged her temples, already feeling the ripples in time that their actions would cause. Oh well, nothing she couldn't handle. The Doctor had taught her everything she knew, and it was enough. It would always be enough.

"Everyone ready?" River asked, preparing her vortex manipulator. The new Amy, Rory and Martha gathered around her. Everyone acknowledged her and placed their hands on her wrist. With the press of a button they were all transported back to 1927, in New Jersey. It had been too dangerous to land directly in New York, so it was a long train ride until the four of them reached the Ponds' residence. River came up and knocked on the door.

"Melody!" Her mother cried happily as she reached out to embrace her.

"Mum, you're covered in flour!" She couldn't help but chuckle as she dusted herself off.

"Oh sorry, whoa." She had just looked back and seen the exact replicas of herself and her husband.

"Now that's just weird." Rory came up holding their three month-old son.

Let's get everyone inside before someone notices that there's two of you both." The six of them headed inside and Martha introduced herself.

"I'm the one leading the mission to get you two back, along with your daughter's help of course."

"Thank you, we couldn't possibly repay you for what you're doing." Amy said, motioning for them all to sit on the couch and chairs in the living area.

"Are you sure you both want to go?" Martha looked at Rory, who hadn't spoken yet. "You've been here for four years after all."

"Yes." He replied. "I'm anxious to see my dad, and we both would love to see the Doctor again but," he looked at Amy, as if confirming. She nodded. "We've decided we're not going to travel with him again. It's just too dangerous, and we're ready to grow up."

"It's for the best." Martha agreed. "That's one of the reasons I left." She pulled her phone out. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to contact UNIT here and finalize a few things. After she had left, Amy and Rory took stock of their 'clones' who had been quiet thus far. They talked for a few minutes so Amy and Rory could help Nick and Claudia become just like them.

"Anything I need to do differently?" The new Rory asked his counterpart.

"Uh, I don't think so..."

"Stop acting so confident and sure of yourself." Amy spoke up. "Be a bit more...meek."

"You think I'm meek?" Rory asked his wife. "If that's the case then Claudia should be more-" River stepped in before her father could finish his sentence.

"Maybe Mum should take Nick in the other room while Dad stays here with Claudia, so you can talk about how you really are without getting hurt." Everyone agreed except Rory.

"Although, Nick has a slight Scottish accent," Rory had noticed it earlier when the man spoke. "Maybe Amy isn't the best one to teach him," Amy stuck her tongue out at her husband as she dragged his lookalike into the kitchen.

"Are you sure you really want to do this for us?" Rory asked Amy's lookalike after they had left. She nodded.

"I don't know the full details of Nick's story, but my life was in danger and I don't think there's anywhere I could have hidden before they would have found me. Y'see, I was kidnapped when I was young and became the 'pleasure filler' for a crime boss. When I got out I told the authorities every single thing I knew about him, enough to put him in prison for life. I couldn't ask for a better hiding place. I had family and stuff, but I wouldn't have been able to contact them anyway, this way it'll be easier." She looked at herself in a pocket mirror. "This is the most disconcerting thing though, having to get used to a new face."

"Were you much different before?" Claudia reached into her pocket and pulled out a small photo of her and Nick that had been taken just before they entered facial reconstruction. Their hair color actually wasn't that different. Claudia's hair had been a light brown and slightly red, and Nick's hair had been sandy blonde, nearly same as Rory's. He nodded and handed the photo back to her just as Amy and his lookalike came back into the room. River stood up.

"I'm going to take Martha back to 2014. Mum, Dad, I'll be back in a few days to get you."

"Melody, you can stay in your room if you want. Last time you'll be able to." She added the last part as an afterthought.

"Thanks, but I better get going. I still have to finish my case and Jack wants results within the week."

"Okay, see you soon." Their daughter walked out to find Martha, and Amy and Rory prepared to teach their counterparts everything about their lives.

* * *

"Amy and Rory Pond, welcome to UNIT Headquarters, 2014."

"Actually it's Williams." Rory sighed as he realised no one was listening. He sped forward, seeing the group had moved forward without him.

"It's good to be home." Amy said with a smile that hadn't faded since they'd arrived in their correct time. Anthony gurgled in her arms, as if sensing his mother's elation. Jack turned to address them.

"I'm really sorry guys, but you'll have to move and change your names, even Anthony. Amy and Rory were supposed to die in 1987 and I don't want to take any risks with all of New York at stake. You can meet with your parents but no friends. UNIT will help relocate you after the Doctor sees the completion of the Companion Project." Amy and Rory held hands and linked their fingers together. No matter what they had to do or where they had to go, as long as they were together, they would be okay.

"Do we have to get facial reconstruction too?" Rory asked. "Hey, we could be Nick and Claudia!" Amy smacked his shoulder.

"No stupid face, they were in witness protection!"

"Oh right." He grinned sheepishly. "I love it when you call me stupid face."

"Mm, I know you do." They leaned together and kissed, a bit more passionate than being in public allowed.

"Gosh, you guys are so embarrassing!" River said like a petulant teenager, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I think it's cute." Jack put his arms around the two of them. "If you'd like I'd have a proposition for you..."

"Don't do it!" Martha cried in horror. River laughed while Jack looked put out. Amy and Rory only looked at each other in confusion.

* * *

Another week later a disheveled River Song walked into Torchwood, dark spots under her eyes and her hair lacking its usual 'bounce'. Jack looked up from his desk where he was working alone. After all, he didn't want Gwen to do what he did, not realise how important your loved ones are, and to be with them before they die in your arms...no wait, that was just him.

"What've you got?" He asked, mainly to distract himself from his morose thoughts.

"Not much." She replied with a sigh. "After researching and searching and going through every Time Lord thing I knew, I can only find one plausible way." She laid out her notes on a nearby desk. "I need a chameleon circuit from a Gallifreyan TARDIS to remove the Metacrisis in her head and leave the human, but still keep her memories. The only one I know of is the Doctor's, and he won't let me use it if he knows what I'm using it for." Jack smiled.

"I think I can help you with that." He led her down into the vault where items Torchwood had collected over the years were catalogued and stored. Well, you could say catalogued, but it looked anything but. Items were casually thrown in boxes and stacked all along the walls and the floor in front of them. River wrinkled her nose, but she knew the Doctor would have a field day in here, mainly making fun of the species who designed the certain 'rubbish' technology and throwing everything away that didn't have an immediate purpose to him. Jack went to the back and pulled down a heavy box from up high. River smiled, enjoying the view of his back end.

"Ah, where is it...no, no, ha ha! Here it is!" River gasped as he pulled out a chameleon circuit from a type 40 TARDIS.

"Where the hell did you get that?" She cried in awe. Jack chuckled.

"It was actually in the wreckage of the Canary Wharf based Torchwood. I figure they must've picked it up from the Master's TARDIS, since none of the other time lords ever came to Earth that we know of."

"Or the Rani's or the Corsair's, or Romana if she ever had one."

"Who?"

"Just some other time lords the Doctor told me about. I just can't believe you had one though!" She looked at the ancient yet futuristic machinery in wonder. Jack just smiled in pride. River hauled the circuit out of the box and brought it to the main area to fix the broken parts.

"Can I help?" He asked as she began.

"Sure, these wires have to be connected to the mainframe, without crossing."

"Got it." The two of them were quiet, and the only thing that could be heard was their breathing, and the occasional request for certain tools as they attempted to fix the circuit. Finally River spoke.

"So, did you contact Rose Tyler and the clone Doctor yet?"

"I sent a message, it's going to take a while to send through the rift and to the rift on their side since they're connected. Hopefully they'll establish a link within twenty-four hours." They were both quiet for a few minutes.

"Y'know, I think I know why the Doctor doesn't do this himself, doesn't use his massive brain power to save the ones he loves." River spoke almost reluctantly, like she didn't want to say this but knew she had to.

"Oh? And why's that?"

"When I was with him a while ago, we were...uh...talking-"

"Talking?"

"Oh...shut up!" River ignored his grin. "Anyway, suddenly he says something I said reminded him of someone and how much he misses her, Nyssa I think her name was. So I asked her why we couldn't go see her. He said that he left her on a planet overrun by the Lazar's disease," Jack winced in recognition. "Said she was most likely dead. I told him there must be a way to save her, if he could only think of something." She grunted, having to use muscle to snap a piece into place. "He gave me this look I'll never forget. It was a look of pure hatred, at himself, mingled with sorrow and regret. He said there was nothing he could do, and even if he did, she would probably die an even worse death because, after all, he was the one that brought her to that planet in the first place."

"So what does that say about himself?" Jack sort of knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"He knows he needs companions, he's resigned to the fact that he always will. But when he loses them, he knows it was their time to go, he's done enough damage to their lives and he should leave them alone, even if they're his best friends or he even loves them. Just look at me and my parents." She paused for a moment, the past nearly unable to talk about. Jack put a hand on her shoulder and she smiled at him gratefully.

"If the Doctor hadn't crash landed in her backyard when mum was seven, she would have grown up a normal life, married my dad, had me and maybe five other kids but instead, my parents' marriage was almost ruined, mum can't have kids anymore, and they're stuck with me, a woman who's older than them and can't be with them for the rest of their lives. I was torn from my mother's arms hours after I was born and was raised to be a killer, and now my life is running backwards from the man I love."

"But you wouldn't change the past, would you?" She immediately shook her head.

"I was never the one for a normal life. Imagine me, still living in Leadworth and marrying some normal bloke." She laughed, a light sound that sparked something inside of Jack. "And not knowing the Doctor..." she frowned. "That's what he doesn't get. Bad things may happen because we met him, but we are also made better people. Martha had to walk the Earth for a year in the midst of destruction and pain, but look where she is now. Happy, confident and having a family. Any one of us would agree that we're better people because we met him.

"If I never met him, I'd still be ripping people off, cavorting around the galaxy looking out for my own needs. And I'd probably be dead by now." River nodded.

"I think somewhere inside he's pleased about what happened to Donna specifically. Sure, he can never see her again, but now she's nowhere near the danger she would be if she did remember him. She's with her family and everything in her life is just as it was before she met him, nearly." She looked at Jack. "You wouldn't go back?" He shook his head. "But, I can't even begin to imagine what you go through, what you face every day." Without thinking, she reached out and put a hand on his cheek. "Waking up every morning and knowing, no matter how tired of life you are, it can never end." Her eyes began to fill with tears, not being able to imagine a worse fate. Jack smiled and wiped away a tear with his thumb.

"You're right." He whispered. "Sometimes I wish I'd never met him. Many times. I miss...my friends so much sometimes it hurts to even breathe. But I'm doing good. We both are, right?" He frowned to see that she didn't think the same. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to die soon." River blurted out, dropping her hand from his cheek. "I see that look in his eyes, almost like pity, and I know I'm nearing my end. I told him I was a professor now and he got this dreadful look on his face. It makes me think that he's only being with me out of pity because it's somehow his fault that I die and..." she was becoming hysterical, so in a bold move, Jack put his lips to her's. She was shocked for a moment, before she responded in kind, kissing him with a desperate force. They dug at each other, their predicaments coinciding as well as fading with each passing kiss. The man who could never die and the woman with the backwards time line. It was like putting together two puzzle pieces from separate puzzles, but realising they fit anyway.

"No!" She cried, releasing him like she had been shocked. She turned away, and Jack was slightly pissed off. He had lost things before because he hadn't stood up for the things he wanted, and now he knew he wanted River Song, that kiss had showed him that. How ironic, once he had wanted Rose. The Doctor always did take the best.

"River, do you love him because you have to?" She spun back around, a fire in her eyes.

"How dare you say that? Of course not!"

"I say it because I know you feel the same way I do. There's something here, and I'm not going to give it up because you have this preconceived notion of what love is!" River opened her mouth to say something, but found she didn't have an answer. She was scared. She thought she knew what love was. She was so sure she loved the Doctor but that...that kiss had done something, started a fire in her she had never felt before, and it terrified her more than anything else she had faced in her life.

"B-but I'm married to him." She said after a moment. Jack immediately released her hand and moved away.

"What? When, how?" He wasn't even going to look at her if she truly was the Doctor's wife. If he ever found out he would feed him his own intestines. Multiple times.

"It was during a time that was erased. The universes were destabilizing and he was distracting me so he could save them. Plus he was actually inside a robot suit run by miniaturized people. And then he sort of died..." Jack shook a finger in his ear as if to clear it out.

"It sounds like I heard at least four loopholes to that marriage. I wouldn't even say technically you were."

"I know, but it still feels like I am, I remember it happening," they were both quiet for a few moments. Finally she whispered.

"When I first met him, he knew everything about me. How could I not fall in love with him?"

"Because you weren't given a choice. Have you ever had anything you truly wanted, just because you wanted it and not because it was just handed to you and you thought you wanted it?"

"But what about him? Doesn't he love me?"

"It's the same thing. The first time he meets you you're going to know everything about him. You'll waltz into his life and he'll have no choice but to fall in love...just like you did in mine." He leaned in slowly to kiss her again and she closed the gap between them. As Jack ran his hands through the curls in her hair, River began to unbutton his shirt. She felt guilty about the Doctor, but Jack was right, it was time she had something for herself. Something she had chosen for herself.

Love isn't becoming trapped into a relationship and thinking you can't live any other way. Love is a mutual thing, grown together through experiences and just being together. It's trust, it's understanding. It's not something so easily defined. Love is taking a chance, falling and letting the other catch you.

* * *

**Hope River seems enough in character. But I always wondered what she'd be like if her entire existence didn't evolve around the Doctor. She's a BAMF (Best At Mega Fighting right? ;D) But maybe she does have a few flaws, a few things that could develop on their own if she wasn't glued to the Doctor's side. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but I'll be exploring this ship through this entire story. Please review! :D**


	3. Chapter Two - Don't Forget to Remember

**One down, two to go! :D**

* * *

**Chapter Two – Don't Forget to Remember**

"_Footfalls echo in the memory  
Down the passage which we did not take  
Towards the door we never opened  
Into the rose garden." ~T.S. Eliot_

Early the next morning an alarm went off. Jack and River Song sat up, startled, tangled in skin and bed sheets.

"It's Rose!" Jack cried as he leapt out of the bed he hardly used and threw his pants on. River wrapped the sheet around herself and followed him as he ran out to the main computer and began hitting keys.

"This is Torchwood Three. Jack Harkness for Rose Tyler. Rosie, are you there?" The line was just static for a minute. Finally a familiar voice broke through.

"_This_ _is_ _Torchwood_ One, _Rose_ _Tyler_ _speaking_. _And_ _don't_ _call_ _me_ _Rosie_."

"Haha! Rose, good to hear your voice!"

"_Yours_ _too_ _Jack_. _Your_ _message_ _said_ _you_ _were_ _getting_ _all_ _of_ _the_ _Doctor's companions_ _back_, _did_ _you_ _have_ _a_ _plan_ _to_ _get_ _me_ _over_ _there_?"

"As a matter of fact I do. There's an opening in the rift on your side, isn't there, the same one that connects here?"

"_Yeah_. _We're_ _dealing_ _with_ _weevils_ _and_ _all_ _kinds_ _of_ _rubbish_ _coming_ _through_ _there_. _I_ _never_ _figured_ _it_ _out__ though,_ _how_ _is_ _it_ _the_ _same_ _one_ _that_ _was made by_ _the_ _TARDIS?"_

"I figure it's because when the TARDIS landed in that universe, it was somehow still drawing energy from the rift and connected the two universes."

_"That makes_ _sense_, _I_ _guess_. _So_ _how_ _am_ _I_ _getting_ _back_?"

"Through the rift. That connection will be enough for you two to slip through without any damage."

_"Two?"_

"You and the clone Doctor, he's still with you, isn't he?" The line was quiet for a few moments, and Jack's heart suddenly dropped.

"_He's_ _dead_."

"What do you mean he's dead? The Doctor meant for you two to have forever."

_"How long has it been for you since Davros and the Daleks?"_

"Nearly five years."

_"Time moves faster in this universe Jack. It's been fifteen years, and John, my Doctor died three years ago. A Galravian Poison bullet. He hung on for a few days before..." _A quiet sniffle came over the speaker.

"Oh Rose, I'm so sorry. I know the Doctor didn't intend for it to happen like that."

_"I know. I harbour no ill will towards him because it's not his fault. I just want to come home." _Jack sighed in relief. That could've gone a lot worse if she had blamed the Doctor for what had happened.

"But what about your family? We can send you back after this is all done."

_"No...there are too many memories for me here. My family will understand."  
_

"Okay," Jack nodded. "Even if you don't want to travel with the Doctor, you'll always have a home with me," River twisted her mouth uncomfortably at that, hugging the sheet closer to her body.

_"Thanks. I think I'll be ready in an hour. I figure that's about fifteen minutes on your side._

"Alright, I need that long to hook the vortex manipulator into the mainframe anyway." He closed the radio signal.

"Jack, do you love her?" River asked, still wary of the great Rose Tyler who had won the Doctor's heart long before she was born. Jack laughed.

"Nah, she's like the little sister I never had," he tried not to think of his little brother Grey. "I did want her, a long, long time ago, but the Doctor made it clear that I wasn't even to look at her that way, much less touch her."

"He never said that about me," she whispered. Jack sighed, coming to stand in front of her. He leaned down to kiss her.

"You usually act like such a strong woman, but that's what it is isn't it, an act? Why do you keep beating yourself up like this?" She didn't reply, only laid her head on his shoulder.

"He never noticed how many weaknesses I really have," she said after a few minutes had gone by. "In fact, you're the only one who's ever seen that side of me, not even my parents have." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, laying kisses on her bare shoulder.

"Alright," he said, releasing her. "I don't make a habit of saying this often but get dressed." River giggled at that and Jack winked. "I need your help, we have to hook both our vortex manipulators to the rift to get enough power to not only get me over there, but to get me and Rose back in one piece."

"In one piece?" River cried. Jack merely laughed.

* * *

Ten minutes later Jack was ready to go. With River's help he'd gotten his own manipulator working again and had it as well as River's strapped to his wrist.  
"Be safe," River said. She came up and kissed him one last time. He grinned at her as he disappeared.

Even though he was with Rose and talking with her for half an hour, when they zapped back only a few minutes had gone by for River. She was surprised by how young the blonde looked. She went up to introduce herself.

"I'm Professor River-"

"Song yes. John told me about you. I was so glad to hear that the Doctor would have someone to love him like John had me." She stopped for a minute, noticing that River's clothes had been hastily put on and Jack's hair was ruffled, which was very unlike him. Unless...

"No!" She cried in horror, "You didn't!"

"Rose, it's not what you think!"

"Oh, so you didn't have sex when you're married to another man, which happens to be the Doctor. And here I was so thankful that he had you-"

"Rose, stop!" Jack spoke harshly, spinning her around to look at him. "Technically, she's not married to him, but that's not the point. We didn't do this just for fun." He looked over her shoulder at River expectantly. She nodded. "We're pretty sure we're in love." Rose's eyes immediately softened.

"I don't know how to tell him." River said quietly. Rose turned back around, a smile on her face.

"I'll talk to him."

"Oh thank you, I know he'll take your advice and not murder Jack numerous times and in various ways in his sleep." Jack twitched involuntarily, before recovering.

"Well, let's get your stuff out of the way, then you can help us with Donna, you're aware of what happened?" She nodded.

"John told me everything." So while they walked away, River got the urge to ask her something she'd wanted to since she first saw her.

"You said you were over there fifteen years?" She nodded. "Excuse me but, you look so young, wouldn't you have been about ten when you traveled with the Doctor?" For indeed she didn't look older than twenty-five. She laughed a sarcastic, bitter-filled laugh.

"I would have been, wouldn't I? I'm actually forty-six." Jack looked at her sympathetically; he had already heard this all from her when they talked in the other universe.

"That's impossible," River replied.

"Did the Doctor ever mention Bad Wolf?" River thought it odd, but she thought about it anyway.

"Well, there was this one time the Doctor took me to this planet, Kitariah 3 I think it was, where they worshiped the golden wolf god, I asked the Doctor what it was, he only replied that the legend says 'long ago, with the power of the universe in her fingertips, the Bad Wolf waved a hand and spread her golden light over the stars, saving countless billions of lives.' He wouldn't tell me anything else." She could still see the look in his eyes, a mix of nostalgia and sadness, lost in a world long gone to him. She looked at Rose and was surprised to see that exact same look, though mingled with a bit of guilt. Actually, a lot of guilt.

"The Bad Wolf was me. Had the entire time vortex running through my head. It was the only way to save the Doctor and the entire universe from the Daleks."

"You should be dead." River said bluntly.

"But I'm not. The Doctor drained the vortex out of me, looking like there was absolutely no Bad Wolf left."

"That wouldn't have been enough, there still would have been some sort of side effect."

"Well he was busy regenerating at the time, plus, I think the no-aging thing was the side-effect. I reached twenty-five, the peak of my strength and health, and just stayed there." She sighed. "I was also shot by a Galravian Poison bullet. Woke up and was healed, not like John was." Jack grabbed her shoulder for support. "I'm fine," she said, assuring him, for what did not sound like the first time. "It was so long ago, I've learned to live and depend only on myself now. That's why I had to leave my family. I didn't want to watch them grow old and die, leaving me totally and completely alone. No, better that I remember them as they were, young and healthy." She released a breath she didn't kniw she had been holding. "If the Doctor doesn't want me back, so be it." Jack looked at her admiringly.

"You may look like my little Rosie but you've grown up so much." She smiled at her long-time friend.

"Thanks. And for the last time, stop calling me Rosie!"

* * *

Later that day, after Rose had been situated and had given some helpful tips on how to restore Donna's memory, Jack had given her a blanket and she was sleeping peacefully on the couch under the Torchwood logo wall. Jack was in his office, gathering all the paperwork it had taken to get Rose here. He looked up as he heard River's soft steps.

"Rose had a good idea, that, using my time lord powers, I could bring back Donna's memory temporarily first so it would be her choice if she really wanted to go through all that pain of the chameleon circuit." Jack nodded, but didn't reply. River knew he was thinking of something.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked. He nodded, and she was worried to see a look on his face she couldn't read. He shuffled the papers in his hands, gathering up courage.

"Do...do you think we should go through with this?"

"Why do you ask?" She was confused. Hadn't he been the one to encourage her last night? How she should take what she wanted for the first time in her life? Why was he backing out now?

"You called out someone's name last night, and it wasn't mine."

"So did you," she replied bluntly. He only turned his mouth in displeasure at that.

"It's just, we need to be prepared if the Doctor still wants you and not Rose." River chuckled mockingly.

"She can do no wrong in his eyes. It's plain to see why he fell in love with her. She was the only companion he wouldn't talk about to me fully. Said her time with him was too painful to talk about." She paused a moment. "I still care for him deeply, but what you said last night opened my eyes. I've been depending too much on him, instead of thinking about me for a change. You've made me feel like myself, or at least the me I want to be, instead of the me I'm trying to be in his eyes." He still looked unsure.

"All I'm saying is that if we're going to do this fine, but I need to be committed all the way. No dodging the Doctor, dodging our feelings, nothing. I have all the time in the universe, but you don't, apparently. I don't want you to waste your time with me unless you really want to." River smiled sympathetically. So that was what had really been bothering him. She came up to him and kissed him. He sighed in pleasure as her tongue did extraordinary things in his mouth.

"That answer your question?" She asked, her mouth inches from his, their noses barely touching. Jack rested his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and breathed in her intoxicating scent. It had been so long since he'd given his heart like this. Not since... no. No more heartache while thinking on the past. Not while the present still had the chance to make him happy.

* * *

"Cab!" Donna Noble hugged her purse closer to herself against the cold, bitter wind. Everything, even her life had been so cold and bitter ever since Shawn left her because of her biting temper. She didn't know why she was so mad all the time. It felt like a part of her life was missing and she couldn't get it back, no matter how hard she tried.

The taxi rolled up in front of her and she stepped in, giving the male driver the address to her gramp's house. Another reason her life seemed in the toilet. Having to move back in with her mum and granddad had been both stressful and humiliating. She leaned back and sighed, watching the buildings and people pass her by, just like that part of her life she couldn't have. She looked up at the cab driver and saw he was rather nice looking. Blonde hair, blue eyes, nose a bit big but that wasn't much to complain about.

No. She'd only botch that up too, just like with Shawn. She continued her morose staring out the window.

* * *

Sometime later she realised the cab was nowhere near she needed to go.

"Oi!" She shouted, "Where are we?"

"Cardiff ma'am." He replied.

"Cardiff?" She spat. "I didn't ask to come to Cardiff, just wait 'til your supervisor hears about this, he'll have your job!" She went to open the door but the locks suddenly went down, trapping her. "Oi!" She cried again. "Let me out!" She grabbed her head as a memory she didn't remember played in front of her eyes, a Santa robot, a blue box on the highway...

"Donna, just stay calm," the cabbie tried to reassure her. "We're not going to hurt you."

"How do you know my name? And how the bloody hell am I supposed to be bloody calm when you've bloody kidnapped me?!"

"It's for your own good, I promise." The car rolled up in front of a watering fountain near the centre of town. Three people were standing there, and strangely she recognized all of them, even though she had never seen them before in her life. A young blonde woman.

_"I'm so sorry but, you're gonna die."_

An older blonde woman.

_"Spoilers."_

And a very attractive tall man.

_"You can hug me if you want. No seriously, you can hug me."_

"How do I know you people?" she cried as the doors unlocked and she stumbled out. "How do I..."

"Donna, just stay calm," the younger woman said. The older woman came up to her and put her fingers on her temple.

"What are you doing-" she cried out as suddenly she remembered everything. _Rose Tyler, River Song, Jack Harkness...the Doctor..._"My head!" She cried as her head began to burn with the memories.

"Donna, do you want to remember? Do you want to remember the Doctor?" River shook her and yelled it again.

"Yes!" Donna cried, "Yes, I don't want to forget again!"

"Get her inside!" Jack said, waving a hand at Rory, telling him thank you and he was free to go. He was rather glad. The whole thing sounded painful and he didn't want to hear her screams.

* * *

"It's going to be okay Donna," Rose assured her as River hooked her up to the circuitry inside the base. "It's going to hurt like hell, but you'll be okay."

"Thank you," Donna gasped before Jack threw the switch. They all winced and couldn't help but watch in horror as Donna's DNA was being rewritten, screaming like her whole body was on fire.

After what felt like hours but was in reality only a few minutes, her screams died down. The headset unsnapped and she dropped to the floor unconscious. River and Rose ran to her side while Jack shut the machine down.

"Donna? Donna wake up!" It was a tense next few minutes, but soon her eyelids began to stir. River looked up at Jack to see if he had grabbed the fob watch her Metacrisis DNA had been stored in. He showed it to her before pocketing it, away from Donna's sight. He planned to lock it away later. Deep inside Torchwood, in a box piled by other ones, forgotten about for many, many years.

"Donna? You okay?" Rose helped her sit up. The redhead held her head and winced, feeling her intense headache start to fade away. Also that emptiness she had felt for the past few years felt like it had been filled, like she could finally be herself again, the Donna Noble she was supposed to be.

"How are you feeling?" River asked her.

"O-okay I guess. Been better." She looked over and saw Jack, and immediately her expression brightened. Rose laughed in merriment.

"I think you're going to be quite alright Donna Noble."

* * *

**Yeah, yeah**, **yeah** **lay** **it** **on** **me**. **It's** **sooo** **typical** **to** **kill** **the** **Metacrisis** **off**, **leaving** **the** **Doctor** **and** **Rose** **with** **no** **hurdles** **to** **get** **over**. **Well**, **you'll** **find** **that** **everything** **isn't** **perfect**, **that** **Rose** **is** **still** **dealing** **with** **a** **lot** **of** **things** **and John's death and the events surrounding it had a bigger impact than what she let on, which** **is** **pretty much 80% of the plot of** t**he** **sequel**. **Please** **review**!


	4. Chapter Three - No Regrets

**In relation to killing off the Metacrisis, just be thankful I didn't make him evil or uncaring, I have been known to do so in the past...**

**The last chapter was pretty much the end of the Jack/River drama, hope you're ready for some fluff, I do love it so ^^**

* * *

**Chapter Three – No Regrets**

"_I've never met a person, I don't care what his condition, in whom I could not see possibilities. I don't care how much a man may consider himself a failure, I believe in him, for he can change the thing that is wrong in his life any time he is ready and prepared to do it. Whenever he develops the desire, he can take away from his life the thing that is defeating it. The capacity for reformation and change lies within." ~Preston Bradley_

It was nearly a month later when the Doctor's companions started rolling in. Rose helped sign everyone in while Donna coordinated the hotels they were to stay at. Jack and River were still planet-hopping looking for stragglers and Martha was busy taking care of her unborn child.

"Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Shane are a no-go." River said to Jack one night. "Had their memories wiped by the Time Lord Council, no chance of recovery."

"Where do you even get this information?" Jack had dug deep and hadn't even heard of Jamie or Zoe.

"Oh, I just stole the Doctor's diary."

"Is that okay?"

"Oh sure, I am his wi-...uh, I mean, was his wife at one time." River flipped through her papers, looking for anything that would be of relevance.

"Still can't find Susan, I think she might've been on Gallifrey when...y'know."

"Yes, Romana and Leela were probably there too. Any word on Liz Shaw?"

"Yes, I found her in New York. She'll be here at the end of the week."

"Oh, and I had a strange encounter." Jack said, a befuddled look on his face as he recalled. "I found Adam Mitchell's house, a year in the future. Knocked on the door, he opened it and I began to tell him about the gig for the Doctor. As soon as I mentioned the Doctor, he slammed the door in my face. Me, of all people! As I was leaving I heard him shout 'Give my best to Rose!'. I meant to ask her earlier but I forgot."

"That is odd. Well the Doctor alienates just as many people as he befriends I guess." She chuckled at the pun in 'alienates'.

"We're almost done," Jack said with a grin as he realised. "Then we can get the Doctor here for the biggest thank you in history. Believe me I know, I lived through most of it."

"Hmm," River grinned sexily, throwing the papers down carelessly. They scattered lazily to the floor. "Wanna make some history of our own?"

"No, no, no," Jack replied, waving a disapproving finger at her. "I'm the one with the sexy pick up lines."

"Are you challenging me in flirting?"

"Hell no!" He laughed. "There's no competition, my flirting is legendary! I could flirt a hard-hearted Falorian into submission before you could even get a word out!"

"Oh yeah, hit me with your best shot." He began whistling a Pat Benatar song, before she smacked his arm.

"Alright, alright," he lowered his chin to his chest and took a few deep breaths. He grabbed her suddenly and pulled her body to his. "Hey baby," he whispered sexily, "how'd you like to be saluted by the Captain of the love-making squad?" River could barely keep her giggles in.

"The love-making squad? That's really the best you got?" He was shocked, about to come up with a blistering retort when there was a cough behind them.

"Ahem?" River and Jack snapped up their heads to see Gwen Cooper standing in the doorway, an amused look on her face. She had seen much, much worse before.

"Oh! Right, Gwen, you needed something?"

"Just wanted to see how I could help." Jack shot a questioning look at River.

"No!" She cried. He put on a pout.

"Fine, tomorrow I'm pretty sure Donna could use some help drawing up a plan for where everybody is to stand when 'you know who' arrives."

"Got it." Gwen said as she departed.

"Now, where were we?" Jack asked, relieved to see they were alone again.

"That hideous pick up line."

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" He could tell by the look in her eyes as he pulled her to him again.

"You could've started singing that Pat Benatar song and it would've worked." As she dragged him towards his hardly-used bedroom, he began singing at the top of his lungs.

"You come on with a "come on", you don't fight fair, but that's okay, see if I care! Knock me down, it's all in vain, I'll get right back on my feet aagainnnn!"

* * *

Rose laughed lightly as she heard Jack singing at the top of his lungs. She knew he'd had a lot of heartache in his life and River would do him good, make him happy at least for a little while. Huh. Just like John had done for her. Even though three years had passed, sometimes she missed him so much she could barely move or think. But she knew exactly what he'd say if he were sitting here on this couch right now. In fact she cou_ld see him now..._

_"Rose, you need to stop moping over me and get yourself ready to take the Doctor's hearts back."_

"I don't want the Doctor back," she replied to the empty air, "I want you." _He reached out to move a strand of hair out of her eye._ She could even_ feel the touch of his fingers against her cheek.  
_

_"Oh I know you do, Rose Petal." _Tears filled her eyes at his familiar nickname for her. _"But you need to be with him. The Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS, just as we were, without the TARDIS of course."_

"We did the best we could. And I'm doing the best I can."_ He looked at her with that raised eyebrow she loved so much. _"Really, I am. If he doesn't want me back I need to be independent enough to stay here and work with Jack and not fall begging at his feet to take me with him." _He nodded._

_"Whatever you think is best. I know you'll be okay. I love you Rose,"_

"I love you too John. And...I'm sorry, y'know, for what I let happen to Char-..." _He hushed her by putting a finger to her lips._

_ "It wasn't your fault my beautiful girl." He went to lean out to kiss her_ _b_ut his image faded away as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. It was Mickey. She quickly wiped the tears off her damp cheeks. He looked at her sympathetically, having seen the action. She stared at him awkwardly, wondering what to do. The last time they had seen each other he had barely said goodbye before he stayed in this universe. And she had been the one to make him do it.

"Rose, come here, don't make it more awkward than it needs to be," at his word she leapt up and hugged him tightly.

"Oh Mickey, I'm so sorry. I drove you away." She pulled back and looked deep into his brown eyes, emotion nearly overflowing within her. "If I could go back, I'd change everything, I wouldn't treat you like I did."

"Oh you mean you wouldn't dump me and leave with the Doctor?"

"Oi! That's not what I meant and you know it. No seriously, I shouldn't have kept you hanging on for so long. I was a real bitch and you never let me down."

"Well I can't argue with that."

"Would you stop that? I'm trying to have a heartfelt moment here!" Despite her mood, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Thanks Rose, but everything worked out. I couldn't be happier. I mean this in the best way possible but Martha and I are a much better fit than we ever would have been."

"But look where it got me." She sighed bitterly, flopping back down on the couch. Mickey was quiet for a few moments as he sat down next to her.

"Do you regret anything you ever did with the Doctor? Overall?"

"Overall? Of course not."

"And would you trade that time you had with him for someone else, like me perhaps?" She looked at him in confusion, wondering where this was heading.

"What are you getting at?"

"If loving the Doctor got you here, as you put it, how could you ever be disappointed with where you are now? If the best love only lasts so long, shouldn't it be worth it?"

"Yeah. I guess you're right. I should be thankful for the time I got with John, shouldn't I?"

"Better than the Doctor to see you moping over him."

"Oi, why does everyone assume we're going to get back together?"

"Because you're the Doctor and Rose Tyler, how could it end up any other way?"

"Tell the Doctor that when he gets here, will ya?" She looked at him ruefully.

"Just believe in yourself, I know I do."

"Thanks. You're the best pure human I ever dated." She gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Oh, that's saying a lot. But thanks anyway." He hugged her one last time, before leaving.

Rose laid down on the couch and pulled the blanket over her body and dreamed of the best times in her life. Marrying John, her first moments on the TARDIS, getting knighted and banished on the same day, and just being with her Doctor, whether he be clad in leather, wearing pinstripes or having only one heart.

_"I'm the only one left. I win."  
"The Dalek survived. Maybe some of your people did too."  
"No. I'd feel them, in here. There's no one left."  
"Well then, good thing I'm not going anywhere."  
"...Yeah."_

* * *

"Jack, look who's here, I found her at the last minute!" River came in, a young woman beside her. She stuck her hand out for Jack to shake.

"Great! I read your file, you're just in time!" He said after she introduced himself. "If you would go see Donna for your spot, that would be perfect." She saluted and the Captain released a relieved sigh. He didn't think they'd be able to find her in time.

* * *

Finally the day so many had been waiting for had arrived.

"River, we got everyone situated, you're up." She stood up above the small crowd outside the Torchwood Hub, holding a wireless microphone so everyone could hear her. She looked out into the sea of faces, some young, but most of them older. Men, women, dark skin, light skin, blonde hair, brown hair, demolitions experts, freedom fighters, alien defenders, citizens of Earth and representatives of other planets, all here to show the Doctor that he really is loved and never truly alone. She noticed the woman she'd brought in this morning and the primary cases of the Companion Project were not present and smiled. It was all going according to plan.

"Companions!" She shouted to get their attention. Most of them stopped talking immediately to look up at her. Others had to be shook after a few seconds to quiet down. "The Doctor is going to be here soon!" The crowd began to cheer. "Did everyone see the picture of his current regeneration downstairs?" They all nodded, Jo Jones, Craig Owens, Clyde and Rani and a few others saying they had already met him like that.

"Now, just a couple of guidelines, not exactly rules but things will go smoother if they're followed. The Doctor may be pretty embarrassed and deeply overwhelmed by all of us. Let him come up to you, not the other way around. Be quiet and give him time to process. It may take a while but everyone will have a chance to talk to him. Are my parents and the others set?" She asked specifically to Jack, and he gave a thumbs up in reply. "Okay, this morning I popped into the TARDIS and gave her directions to get the Doctor here at the right time, which should be..." she looked at her watch "any minute now. Now remember, when the TARDIS lands, everyone stay silent until he opens the doors." She hopped off the platform and the people resumed talking again. She could barely hold in her excitement. The Doctor had done so much for this planet, for every other planet and every universe in existence. This would be the best present anyone could give him, especially the second part of the gift...

* * *

The Doctor wandered around the console of the TARDIS slowly and morosely. His newest console room glowed blue and he thought about the past themes he'd had for the inside of the TARDIS, or specifically, the people that had occupied them. The large orange glass theme for Amy and Rory, classic coral for Martha, Donna and Rose, the large majestic room for the little time Grace and Lee were with him, and the few different versions of the clean white he'd had for the first few hundred years of his life. Also that home-y theme he'd had for a while back in his fourth life. So many companions had walked on this floor, no matter how many times it'd changed.

Sometimes he wondered how he kept on going, how everyone he ever met would eventually be ripped from his life in the cruelest ways possible. He thought about River's kiss that morning after she popped into the TARDIS to see him. It was nearly reluctant, and he almost hadn't noticed. Just another thing he was going to lose soon, because of him.

He'd just find Clara, or Oswin, or whatever her name was, and solve the mystery of her. And then he'd be done. Yeah, he'd retire, stop ruining other peoples' lives just so he wouldn't be alone. They were all better off without him, after all.

As soon as he thought that the TARDIS pitched violently to the right, sending the Doctor off his feet.

"What the hell?" He shouted as the TARDIS began to fly herself. He hung on to the console for dear life until the shaking of the sentient ship died down. There was never anything good outside those doors whenever the TARDIS flew herself. Oh well, he didn't have a choice, did he? The scanners refused to give him anything, strangely enough that didn't make him feel any better.

He stood up, straightened out his bow tie, and made his way to the door. He grasped the handle and opened it slowly...

* * *

**That was my probably my favorite chapter of this. I love both fluff and angst, and this had a little of both. Plus a good deal of excitement all around!**

**Haha, funny thing, as I was editing this Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot came up on my playlist. Thousands of songs and that one plays just as Jack is joking about it! :D There was a little itty bitty hint in there on what might be going on in the sequel.**

** HOW WILL THE DOCTOR REACT? ALERT TO FIND OUT.  
**


	5. Chapter4-The Biggest ThankYou in History

**I feel bad for cutting out some characters, but I wanted to make this as realistic as possible (in a sci-fi show? Since when?) I hold the utmost respect (not to mention love them dearly) for the Brig, Sarah Jane and the others mentioned.  
**

**WARNING: This is *Eleven/Rose*, as it says on the cover summary. If you were expecting something else, close this page now.**

* * *

**Chapter Four – The Biggest Thank You in History**

"_We have fewer friends than we imagine, but more than we know." ~Hugo Von Hofmannsthal_

_ The Doctor stood up, straightened out his bow tie, and made his way to the TARDIS door. He grasped the handle and opened it slowly..._

* * *

The Doctor blinked numerously, believing that the sun had damaged his eyes. Or maybe he had landed on a planet with a vaporizing atmosphere that had killed him instantly. Or maybe he had been infected with Yizatoma hallucination-inducing nerve gas, again. Because there was no way that the group of people standing in front of them cheering and shouting their thanks all used to travel with him or knew him in some way. He was staring at them all with blank emotion on his face like his mind had been broken. Finally his head snapped up as two people he recognized very well came up to him, great big smiles on their faces.

"Do something Doctor," Jack whispered to him. "You look like a big lug just standing there with your chin on the ground." River took his hand and he followed her, still not saying a word.

There stood Mickey and Martha, the latter looking a bit larger than he had last remembered. As he saw Luke, Clyde and Rani with K9, he felt a pang of sadness for one of his oldest friends. A salute each from the retired Sergeant Benton, Captain Yates and the not-retired Captain Katherine Stewart with a handcuffed Christina DeSouza between them, the last wearing a chagrined smile. Craig, Sophie and Stormageddon. Mel, Ace, Nyssa, Tegan, Ian and Barbara. Peri and Steven. Wilf and Grace. Turlough, Gwen Cooper and Lee.

As much as he was in awe of everyone there, he knew for sure a few names that wouldn't, couldn't ever be there. Susan, Katarina, Sara, Jamie, Zoe, Sarah Jane, Harry, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Leela, Romana, Adric, Astrid, Jenny, Donna, Rose, Amy and Rory. But that was okay. Jack and River did their best and he was going to be more than thankful for this incredible gift.

As the faces passed by him, finally a smile began to break through his blank expression. The smile grew into a big grin, and he began laughing. He shook hands and greeted everyone he came into contact with.

"Good to see you Dr. Grace Holloway, still listening to Madame Butterfly?"

"Peri! How's the royal life been treating you?"

"K9! Who's a good boy?"

"I am, Master."

"Sally Sparrow! How'd you actually like to stay in the TARDIS this time?"

"I was thinking about you the other day Nyssa, glad to see you're okay."

After River and Jack had sensed he had gotten his fill of hugs and nostalgia, they pulled him onto the platform that would lower them into the main Torchwood base.

"W-what are we doing?" He asked, still a bit overwhelmed.

"That was only part one of your gift." River nodded at Jack and the lift began to descend. Jack and River held the Doctor back so he wouldn't look down and see until they reached ground level. As soon as he saw the three people standing there, he began to lose feeling in his legs and the two beside him had to hold him up. Finally he regained his balance and took a few hesitant steps forward in front of the first person, someone he never thought he could ever talk to again. Not like he wanted to.

"I guess I was wrong," Donna said with a watery smile. "You can change." He reached out and embraced her, remembering what she had said all those years ago when that incident with the Adipose started.

_"Don't you ever change?"_ She let him go and immediately he turned and grabbed Amy and Rory desperately. The two closest friends this regeneration had.  
"I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered. Amy's voice nearly broke as she said something she'd wanted to say ever since that day she was ripped from him.

"Hello. Hello my Raggedy man." She regained control and released him, smoothing down the front of his new jacket. He looked so different from the last time she had seen him, and felt like she should be slightly worried. But the reason for that was no longer applicable.

The Doctor noticed someone was standing behind them. Donna, Amy and Rory stood aside and a blonde woman he thought he'd never see again stepped forward.

"Hello dad," Jenny said with a smile.

"B-but...I saw you die. You were dead!"

"Turns out I have as many tricks up my sleeve as you do. Utah, 2012, really?"

"Well," he grinned sheepishly, shrugging.

"Oi! Doctor!" He heard a shout from above, a voice he dared not hope to believe. But there she was, sitting on the upper ledge, her feet dangling off the edge, her fingers gripping the railing. Her face broke into a wide grin as their eyes connected. He stood there dumbfounded, this being the final blow to his brain. He truly believed now that he had died. The universe had never been this kind to him, not once. There was no way Rose Tyler was on that ledge, calling to him. Finally Donna smacked his shoulder, shocking him out of his stupor.

"Oi, Spaceman! Go up and get her!" Without another thought he raced over to the ladder leading up. At the same time Rose jumped up and they began running. The Doctor couldn't seem to get up the ladder fast enough, all the while staring at her, as if somehow she would disappear if he turned away. or even blinked.

"Deja vu." Donna whispered.

Finally their bodies collided and he swung her around giddily, and the tears he had been holding back finally broke through.

"My Doctor, my Doctor," Rose whispered over and over to him, knowing he needed the reassurance to know that this was real.

"Oh Rose, why did I ever let you go?" All the others he had lost were of course his fault, but none of them had been his choice, he hadn't chosen to send any of them away. Except for the woman who meant the most to him.

"Shh, it's okay, I forgive you." Her arms pulled him tightly to her and he buried his face in her shoulder.

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve you." He muttered.

"Yes you do. That's what all of this is for, to show you you do deserve it and...that you are loved." After she said that he quickly grabbed the sides of her face and snogged her soundly until both of them could barely breathe due to lack of air.

Suddenly reality seemed to hit the Doctor like a load of bricks. He was married! His lips released Rose like she had shocked him.

"River," he whispered, looking down to where he had seen her last...and saw something that normally would make his blood boil. She was holding Jack's hand.

"Doctor," Rose implored, knowing he needed to know now. He turned back to her, his face a mask of confusion. "There's something you need to know about River and Jack, come on, let's sit down."

* * *

The Doctor had been slightly crushed, after all, River had gone behind his back with the former Time Agent. But he accepted River's proposal that their marriage become null due to it being during a time that never happened, her actually marrying a robot filled with miniaturized people, and that technically he had died soon after. And the whole thing had been a distraction in the first place. The two of them would later have a talk. In order to keep their backwards time line straight, River would hide her relationship with Jack from any younger Doctors she would meet. It hurt her deeply to lie, especially to him, but the universe depended on it.

With that sorted, there were tons of people with no place to go, and the Torchwood base wasn't big enough to hold even a quarter of them. River and Jack looked stumped, not having thought this far. The Doctor just grinned, saying the ballroom in the TARDIS hadn't been used in ages...

So everyone piled in, River leading them and the Doctor greeting them as all his companions filtered in, many of them having never stepped foot into the TARDIS before.

"Wow!" Jenny exclaimed upon entering. "It's all I've ever dreamed!" The Doctor hugged her shoulder to him.

"You can stay, if you want, take that proper trip I promised you." She grinned and laughed giddily. She kissed him sweetly on the cheek.

"Thanks Dad." She ran off to catch up with Mickey, Martha and Donna.

"Hey, so what are you going to do, now that you have your memory back?" Martha asked Donna as they walked. Martha winced and laid a hand on her back. The baby would be due any day now. Donna smiled, having already decided earlier that morning.

"I'm going to find my husband. Shawn left me because of my temper. It's true, I was always angry and bitter at the world, and I didn't know why. Now I do. I always said I was gonna travel with the Doctor forever, but now I've realised I can't be running from the life I deserve. I guess I've grown up."

"I think most of us have." Martha glanced backwards at Rose who was walking a short distance behind them, wondering what was going through the blonde's head. She looked withdrawn, when she should have been happy.

* * *

The Doctor had spent two hours walking around and catching up with everyone in the ballroom when he realised he hadn't seen Rose in a really long time. He spent a few minutes searching, not finding her in her old bedroom, the library, nor the kitchen. He had returned to the ballroom to look for her again when he remembered her favorite room back when she traveled with him was the One Room, aka the Gallifrey Re-Creation room.

He excused himself from the ballroom and went to the door that led to the One Room. He entered and sighed, a wave of nostalgia from his home planet washing over him. He climbed up one of the hills and saw a flash of her blonde hair sitting at the top, under her favorite tree that looked out over the Citadel. He stood at the top and watched her for a few minutes as she twirled a silver leaf between her fingers.

"You should be with your guests." She said, not bothering to look at him.

"I am. You're one of my guests." He came and sat beside her. "So what are you doing here, there'll be enough time for this when you're traveling with me." At that she turned to look at him.

"You're just assuming I'm staying?" He was dumbfounded for a second.

"Well, yeah, I mean, isn't that what you're here for? Jack filled me in on what happened with John. I'm so sorry Rose, I never meant for...I wouldn't have..."

"I know. What's done is done, and I harbour no malice towards you for it. Really, I don't. Those twelve years I had with John were some of the best years of my life."

"And no...you didn't try for a family?" Rose sighed.

"We weren't compatible enough I guess. Either he was too time lord or I was too Bad Wolf. Either way, nothing worked." The Doctor hung his head, feeling even more guilty than before.

"Don't feel bad." Rose said, knowing what he was thinking. Funny, she always knew what he was thinking. "We were happy, that's the most important thing."

"If I could bring him back for you, I would. I would do anything to make you happy again."

"I know, and it means so much. Thank you." The Doctor scooted closer to her and she snuggled up against him, laying her head on his shoulder. The Doctor closed his eyes. They had done this so many times before, the first time being just after her dad had died in her arms. They had _sat here and he held her while she cried._

_"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered. Rose looked up at him while clutching his leather lapel, her eyes red with tears.  
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean what you said."  
"No, not just that. I'm sorry...for everything." _

Rose sighed, also thinking of that time, so, so long ago.

"I just don't know if I'm ready for this kind of life again. I have learned to depend only on myself but I think I may be damaged beyond help if my heart gets broken again."

"Why would your heart be broken?" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"You don't have to love me you know, just because you feel guilty about what happened to me. You've been with River for so many years, you like strong women, you always have. I'm not like that. When I give my heart, I give it all." The Doctor was quiet for a few minutes, contemplating.

"Rose, it's true, I did...maybe I still do love River. She was a big part of my life. But if she can realise that she can make her own choices and not fall in love to keep our time lines intact, then I can too. And you know what? You'll always be my choice. Not because I feel guilty, but because I feel like the best man I can be when you're by my side. I always want to feel like that, and I never want it to end." Rose smiled.

"How long are you gonna stay with me?" She quoted him, not caring that it sounded cheesy beyond belief.

"Forever." He relied, hugging her to himself. And together they watched the artificial twin suns set beyond the citadel below them.

* * *

**I'm sorry there wasn't much interaction with some of the old companions, but I wasn't even going to have any of them in the first place 'til I thought of it. The main goal was the three initial cases: Amy and Rory, Donna and Rose. I guess maybe I could write up some 'deleted scenes' if there's a specific reunion with a certain companion you'd like to see.  
**

**Just the epilogue left! Please review! :D**


	6. Epilogue - River Song Has Been Saved

**Kinda disappointed that this story didn't do as well as some of my others in relation to reviews. (Especially with 65+ followers! Wow! :)) That makes me scared to post the sequel since sequels never ever do as well as the original stories (mainly why I don't write them often). Anyway, thanks to those who did, even if you did want the Doctor to get with River, which was never, ever the goal of this (if you knew me or read any single one of my other DW stories, you'd have to know the Doctor would eventually end up with Rose ^^). It's been fun, and don't forget to author alert me so you won't miss the sequel!**

* * *

**Epilogue – River Song Has Been Saved**

"_Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love, and to be loved, is the greatest happiness of existence." ~Sydney Smith_

Over the next few days slowly companions started trickling out. People who needed to get back to jobs, families and overall lives. The Doctor made an open invitation for anyone to travel with him, either indefinitely or for just one trip. Pretty soon all that was left was Rose, River, Jack, Donna, Grace, Sally Sparrow, Jenny, Amy, Rory, Luke, Clyde and Rani. The Ponds and Donna said they had to leave, but made the Doctor promise to visit them sometime. River and Jack left to help River's parents relocate and to help them get used to the idea of her new boyfriend who couldn't die. Grace, Sally, Luke and his friends opted to stay for only a couple trips, and Rose and Jenny knew they weren't leaving anytime soon.

Also, at the last minute, Ian Chesterton and his wife Barbara, looking the same age as they did back in the sixties, said they'd give it a go, for old times sake. They were probably the most surprised out of anyone about the Doctor's newest regeneration, seemingly like an entirely different man than the one they had met in a junkyard in a rusty phone box with his granddaughter.

* * *

"I really should be mad." The Doctor said to Jack, River and Martha.

"But you're not." Jack said with a smile.

"No. Not at all. You could have blown up New York, fried Donna's brain or ripped apart the barriers between universes, and I'm not mad even a smidgen." He turned and grinned at Rose and Donna who were beside him.

"And thanks for not being mad about...y'know, us." River motioned down to her hand that was grasping Jack's.

"You made your own choice. I shouldn't have done that to you in the first place."

"We still have to think about the time lines though, you already met me, but I still need to meet you." She saw the Doctor stiffen and got that horrible feeling again, like he knew she was going to die. Jack squeezed her hand comfortingly, seeing her tense up as well.

"All I can say is that you whispered my name in my ear at one point." It was a good thing he had decided to tell her his name the day Melody Pond first met him, when he was dying and she sacrificed her remaining regenerations for him.

And then he got an idea. A brilliant idea. A way to say thank you to Jack and River. "Jack, can I speak to you, outside?" Jack frowned, wondering what was on the Doctor's mind. They stepped outside the TARDIS, and the Doctor pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out of his pocket.

"This is the time and the place that River dies." He wrote the coordinates for his vortex manipulator as well, before sonicing the device on his wrist so he could make the trips.

"Why are you telling me this?" He was beginning to guess what the Doctor was getting at.

"So you can take her place." He began to tell him details of what had happened in the library. "Talk to her when I'm knocked out. We're already bending the time lines by preventing her death, if I see you there who knows the damage it'll cause."

"Got it." A smile began to grow on Jack's face. "Thank you."

"It's the least I can do. No one has ever done something like this for me, and it was your idea in the first place to get Donna, the Ponds and Rose back."

"Speaking of Rose, what are your intentions for her?"

"What do you mean?" The Doctor was immediately on his guard, not liking being told what to do in relation to Rose.

"You can't just leave her hanging. You have to be there for her."

"I know that." He snapped, growing more irritated. Jack raised his hands in defense.

"She is still grieving over John, she hides it well, but she still is. Don't let her go through it alone." The Doctor tried to calm himself, knowing he was doing this to watch out for Rose, who was like a little sister to him. He sighed before replying softly.

"I don't ever plan on abandoning her. No, she won't be able to get rid of me now. The biggest mistake of my life was leaving her and I won't be doing it again, not ever." Jack stared at him for a few seconds, debating whether or not he was telling the truth. Finally, he smiled, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Well, alright, as long as you mean it. And no offense, if you break her heart, I'll break both of yours until you're out of regenerations." The Doctor laughed, thinking he was talking with jest.

"Deal." However when he glanced at the time agent, his smile slipped as he saw a determined look on his face and realised he_ wasn't_ kidding.

* * *

The Doctor shut the door to the TARDIS after the last of his guests had left. He turned around at the companions who had stayed, either for a few trips or for many, many more. Grace Holloway, Luke Smith, Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra, Sally Sparrow, Ian and Barbara Chesterton, Jenny Smith and Rose Tyler. Rose and the Chestertons stood off to the side, Rose remembering that only six people were needed to pilot the sentient ship. Jenny seemed the most excited, hopping impatiently on the balls of her feet, dreaming of this day for nearly as long as she could remember.

Rose however was having a blast talking to the people who could be considered the Doctor's first companions, back when he was a stodgy old man, but yet compassionate and warmhearted.

The Doctor looked at them all, never feeling this far from lonely in his whole life. Suddenly he remembered what he was doing, back before all this.

"Hey guys, there's this woman I want you to keep an eye out for." He chanced a glance at Rose, she used to stiffen in jealousy whenever he mentioned another woman. Nope. She just smiled at him. She really had grown up. "She's sort of a mystery and I need to find her soon." He beckoned everyone over to the console screen and brought up the only picture he had of her, the one he met in Victorian England.

"Introducing...Clara Oswald." He grinned, before throwing the first lever that sent them into the vortex.

* * *

_Sometime later, far in the future and in a newly populated library..._

"So, what do we do now?" River asked while Jack swung their arms in the air lazily.

"Anything you want." The smile hadn't left his face since he'd woken up with River staring into his eyes. Saving her life without the Doctor knowing had been a gigantic task, but he knew it was worth it. Now they were strolling down the stairs without an immediate purpose.

"Anything I want?"

"Mm, and I think I know what you want," he adjusted his pants with a cheeky smile on his face. "After all, dying sure puts me in the mood."

"Or almost dying." River wanted to be disgusted with his audacity, but she really was more amused. And turned on. "Alright, lover boy, there's got to be a good hiding place somewhere among these books."

Without a cue, the two of them took off, running and giggling among the massive book shelves.

**THE END**

* * *

**STAY TUNED FOR THE SEQUEL "Starlight in Our Souls", featuring The Eleventh Doctor, Rose Tyler and Jenny Smith!**

**_Summary: The Doctor's having the time of his life traveling with his daughter and the love of his life. But one day Jenny is kidnapped, and it's a race against time to save her before it's too late. And Rose continues to struggle with what happened to her in the parallel universe..._  
**

_"I know it's been three years and I thought I was doing better. But seeing her, your daughter, just brings it all back."  
_

_"We need to deal with this now, Rose. You can't keep putting yourself through this kind of torture. I thought you were done blaming yourself over her death."  
"Well I lied okay? It's not that easy when every waking minute I see her face in my head."  
_

_"Why would you want me? I'm a broken mess."  
_

_"I am the child of the Oncoming Storm and the goddess of time."  
_

_"Look at you, being all protective mother style."  
_

_"Doctor, I'm worried. She wouldn't have just run off."  
_

_"Oh bloody hell, not another pirate ship!"  
_

_"You always know just what to say, don't you?"_

_"Well, the TARDIS did lead us here so Jenny was on this ship within the last twenty-four hours."_

_"Well that's different."_

_"Let her go. If she wants to die with him let her."_

_"Don't worry, I've got a plan."_

_"Since when have we ever been careful?"_

_"Doctor, I don't know what to do! Doctor, I can't do this without you!"_

_"Please don't shut me out!"_

_"I fixed him once, I'm going to have to do it again."_

_"I can't keep holding on to you, it hurts too much."  
"But you haven't really let me go, have you?"_

_"Oh my brilliant Rose, you figured it out before I did."_

_"They found her compatible, you have to hurry!"_

_"ROSE!"_

_"I'm going to kill you."_

_"Please, don't do this!"_

_"I'm sorry."_


End file.
